Arkansas fans are some of the most miserable in the country, ESPN says

Arkansas football rules the world of Razorbacks sports. So, with your bacon, have some Hogs for Breakfast and get caught up. It’s SEC Country’s weekday column and roundup on all things Arkansas … especially Arkansas football. Opinion, numbers, inane babble and more! And now with ironic exclamation points! There is no place like it on the web.

Arkansas fans are the most unhappy in the SEC

Are you the little fish in a big pond?

Has it been years since anyone thought well about you?

Have you been embarrassed more often than you care to think about?

Then, ladies and gentleman, you might be the Arkansas Razorbacks. At least, that’s what ESPN suggests. The Worldwide Leader in Sports (is it still called that?) came out with a Fan Happiness Ranking on Tuesday. Using a number of factors — including those three questions listed above — it slots all the teams in the FBS in a hierarchy of just how happy, or unhappy, a particular fan base is.

With apologies and a nod to American economist Arthur Okun, the ranking will now be referred to as the Misery Index.

In the Misery Index, Arkansas checks in as the most miserable team in the SEC. And this isn’t like football recruiting. In football recruiting, Arkansas is generally near the bottom of the SEC, but still top 30-ish nationally. Nope. The Razorbacks fan base is ranked as the least happy in the SEC and the 93rd least happy in FBS.

For the record, there are 128 full-fledged members of college football’s highest level.

That’s … well, that’s not very good. An eight- or nine-win season would turn those frowns upside down in 2017. But that remains to be seen.

Chase Hayden will quickly become a fan favorite

Ask my colleague Trent Shadid. Or former colleague Jason Kersey. Ask fellow Arkansas beat writer Andrew Hutchinson or Jimmy Carter: I have been on the Chase Hayden bandwagon since he signed.

Hayden, a freshman, was not at Arkansas for spring camp. His competition at the position, Maleek Williams, was. But in the few shorts weeks of preseason camp, Hayden has burst into the fold, establishing himself as the team’s No. 3 running back.

The son of former Tennessee and NFL running back Aaron Hayden (of whom I was a huge fan in my formative years of NFL watching) brings an element to the running back corps no one else on the roster brings.

Shadid has an absolutely wonderful piece about Hayden, his family, his history and his future. Highly recommend.

ICYMI

Luke Ford, one of the top tight end recruits in the country, de-committed from Arkansas earlier this year. He said, though, he would leave his options open and would still consider Arkansas. Well, the Razorbacks are still courting him, Shadid wrote.

The Mike Neighbors era with the Arkansas women’s basketball team is set to get underway. The first-year coach has a doozy of a schedule, which was announced Tuesday.

Oh, look here. Arkansas center Frank Ragnow was named to yet another All-America team this preseason. In reality, this is by far the most significant and legitimate one.